Advertisements

Sep 11, 2019

Here's something I don't remember seeing before. In three theme answers, the first word is a kind of rock - but, for a little twist, add the word ROCK to the fourth theme answer to get ROCK HUDSON.

17. Psychedelic decorative light: LAVA LAMP.

24. Not even a little high: STONE SOBER.

48. Structure renamed for a president in 1947: BOULDER DAM.

35. New York waterway: HUDSON RIVER.

57. Simon & Garfunkel hit, and hint to the starts of 17-, 24-, 48- ... and 35-Across, too!: I AM A ROCK.

Melissa here. First Wednesday in a month or so with no circles. Does that make us square?

Across:

1. Braying beast: ASS.

4. "Diamonds & Rust" folk singer Joan: BAEZ.

8. Hop, skip and jump: CAVORT. Tricky. I was thinking goat parkour.

14. Where lowers lie: LEA. Lower Lea Valley. I don't know if that's the lower lea this refers to or not - but I learned lots about the location of the 2012 Olympics and it's redevelopment in preparation for the games. Facilities and infrastructure built to host the 2012 events are enjoying new life as hotels, apartments, offices and community facilities. Look.

15. Ready and willing partner: ABLE. Nice clue.

16. "Booksmart" director Wilde: OLIVIA. Released May 2019. Four stars on rogerebert.com.

19. Beaus: ROMEOS. Okay.

20. Savory taste: UMAMI.

21. Board game gadget: SPINNER.

23. University of Nevada city: RENO.

27. Set up: ENTRAP.

29. Chinese "way": TAO. Clued last Wednesday as "Eastern principle."

30. Aqua in Aquitaine: EAU. French.

31. Whoopi's Oscar role in "Ghost": ODA MAE.

34. Palm fruit: DATE.

38. Leaning: BIAS.

40. OTC antacid brand: ZANTAC.

41. Possess: OWN.

42. Notable time span: ERA.

44. EPA mandates, taken together: ECO LAW. Had not heard this phrase before, but it makes sense.

61. Quaint "Tsk!": FIE. I usually think of FIE is a somewhat angry exclamation, and tsk as disapproving.

62. Zealous crusades: JIHADS.

63. Letters on Broadway-bound letters: NY, NY. New York.

64. Craze: FAD.

Down:

1. Magnetism: ALLURE. Ooh la la.

2. Ship captains, e.g.: SEAMEN.

3. Eminent scholar: SAVANT. I usually think of an autistic SAVANT, like Charlie in Rain Man, but the first definition is "a learned person, especially a distinguished scientist." Correction (thanks Husker Gary): Raymond was the autistic savant in Rain Man, not his brother Charlie. Younger Charlie could not say Raymond and so he called his older brother Rain Man.

4. Lingerie brand: BALI.

5. Justice league?: Abbr.: ABA. American Bar Association. Clever.

6. Nightmare loc. of film: ELM ST.

7. Youngest Marx brother: ZEPPO.

8. Eye part: CORNEA.

9. Mets slugger Pete who won the 2019 Home Run Derby: ALONSO. Perps to the rescue for those like me who don't follow baseball.

Happy Birthday to dear Husker Gary, author behind this fantastic Crossword Corner map. Email him if you want to be included in the map. On and off the blog, Gary has always been a caring friend and trusted sounding board for me. He has helped me numerous times with his super creative clues.